Officers and members of the public celebrated during local commander event

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11:46 29/07/2021

Five police officers and four members of the public have been recognised for their excellent work and community service at a local commander event.

The event was organised by Superintendent Emma Davies to highlight the good work of everyone who has been involved in recent incidents in the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury area.

Inspector Marcus Forbes-George and Sergeant Julia Martin-Jones from the Cheltenham Local and Neighbourhood Policing Teams received awards after going above and beyond when negotiating with a woman in mental health crisis who had doused herself in petrol and was threatening to set herself alight.

After tense negotiations they were able to convince the woman to put down the lighter and allow officers to approach and help her.

PC Leah Davis, also from the Cotswolds and Stroud, received an award in recognition of her prompt action, courage and selflessness when going to the aid of a man in an extreme state of distress who was about to end his life by jumping from a bridge. PC Davis was off duty at the time and with no concern for herself engaged with the man who was on the wrong side of the railings.

She used excellent communications skills to quickly build up a rapport with him and managed to persuade him back on to the correct side of the railings where LPT officers were able to take him to safety.

PC Liam Wells from the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Local Policing Team was honoured in recognition of his patience, considerable compassion, and utmost care when dealing with a 16 year old girl in mental health crisis who portrayed her intent to jump to her death from the roof of the Eastgate Street shopping centre in Gloucester.

He engaged with the girl for nearly two hours, his calming demeanour shone through and the way in which he interacted with her meant that he was able to build an excellent rapport with her.

The last staff award went to PC Emma Dean from the Cotswolds and Stroud was awarded in recognition of her considerable compassion, utmost care and respect when dealing with a woman in mental health crisis who was threatening to harm herself.

She provided a first class example of de-escalation and effective communication and was able to get the woman out of the car and away from it. She then saw to her immediate medical needs whilst the vehicle was made safe arranging an Ambulance for her transport to hospital.

Four members of the public were celebrated for their bravery in assisting during police led incidents.

11-year-old girl Summer Burton was awarded for her courage, bravery and quick response to a number of peers who were setting fires in the local park. Not only did she challenge the youths about their actions, but she also filmed them and explained her concerns about safety and the dangers of setting fires to them.

Sarah Arrowsmith bravely jumped into a river to calm a man in distress and flagged down a nearby boat who then came to assist pulling them from the water.

She was recognised for her courage, bravery and your quick actions when jumping into the river to calm a distressed, intoxicated man who had jumped in and flagged down a boat to assist in saving the man. Without her quick response the outcome of this incident could have been much worse.

Roger Smith was the man driving the both that Sarah had flagged down. He was highlighted for courageously and quickly aced when going to the assistance of a woman in a river who was helping a distressed, intoxicated man who had jumped into the river.

Roger helped them both to the safety of his boat and without his quick response and help to pull them both out of the water, the outcome of this incident could have been much worse.

The last person to be celebrated was Katrina Miles who received a bravery award for rescuing a vulnerable man from his burning house earlier this year. Katrina's bravery and quick thinking, whilst heavily pregnant, also saw her make him safe before alerting neighbours in adjacent properties to the danger and contacting the Fire Service.

She showed tremendous courage, selflessness, care and compassion by her actions.

Superintendent Emma Davies said: “I am extremely proud of all officers and staff within the organisation who provide an excellent service to the communities of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury in this particular instance.

"It is important to recognise those that go above and beyond and face extremely challenging situations. As for the members of our community that have been recognised I can only thank them for their selfless actions, compassion and bravery."